Live Happy
by dareetel
Summary: “When one’s Bankai disappears without permission from it’s master…that means the master’s time of death draws near.”  [RenjixIchigo]  Warnings: Character Death, Language, Implied MM relationship


Disclaimer - While I wish I did, I don't own Bleach.

Summary - _"When one's Bankai disappears without permission from it's master…that means the master's time of death draws near."  
_  
**Dedication** - To my brothers and sisters in arms. I miss you guys.

**A/N** - This is really short, pretty much written as a "vent" and to help me get through a really long night. The conversation between Ichigo and Renji, along with Renji's thoughts are derived from actual events. Please keep that in mind if any of ya'll decide to leave any comments.

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Renji turns from dispatching the last of the hollows, just in time to see Ichigo sway and drop Zangetsu, as if the sword was too heavy, even in its smaller Bankai form. Running over to catch the younger shinigami, he pulls him against his chest before he can fall to the ground. Holding his orange-haired lover close, Renji is shocked to feel the other man's robes heavy with blood and grimaces as he feels his own robes grow wet. A gasp escapes him as he watches Ichigo's Bankai slowly fade away. There was something different about it, something not quite right about _this_ release.

"Ichigo," asks Renji, with fear in his voice, "did you let go of your Bankai?"

Glassy brown eyes stare at him uncomprehendingly, "Wha – ?...Ren?" Ichigo is prevented from further speech as a coughing fit overtakes him. Blood trickles from his mouth when he is done.

"_When one's Bankai disappears without permission from it's master…that means the master's time of death draws near."_

Kuchiki Byakuya's voice rings in Renji's ears as he sinks to the ground, still holding the smaller man, while setting off the distress flare_. Please,_ he prays silently, _see it and get here. I can't move him myself_. He attempts to do some basic first aid that the 4th Division had taught him, but his spirit energy is too low to have any real effect.

"Hang on, Ichigo, please," he whispers, holding the slight body close to his, smoothing back the soft hair.

"R-Renji?" asks Ichigo, hand coming up, searching.

"Right here, Ichi," he answers, grasping the searching hand. "I've gotcha. Don't talk, just–"

"Sorry, Ren," the other man says weakly. "Didn't mean for this to happen." He stops, squeezing his eyes closed against the pain.

"Baka," Renji says gently, "Not like ya' planned this." He is rewarded with a weak smile before the battered body is wracked with more coughing. More blood trails down the mouth and Renji reaches up to wipe it away without releasing the hand in his. He feels the tremors run through the body in his arms and he tightens the embrace.

"Cold," gasps out Ichigo.

Fear spikes through Renji as he looks around wildly for sign of the relief team. _This is not happening_, he tells himself firmly. _He is NOT going to die on a goddam battlefield in fuckin' Hueco Mundo_. He feels the tears start to sting his eyes but he refuses to let them fall.

"Promise," Ichigo's whisper pulls the red head down to the orange one. "Promise me…" Ichigo's voice trails off.

"What? I'll promise you anything. Just stay with me, please."

"To live happy," the younger shinigami manages to gasp out around the pain.

"Of course I will, Ichigo, we both will," Renji replies, closing his eyes against the tears. Calm seems to settle around Ichigo and Renji feels the broken body relax in his arms. When he opens his eyes and looks down, his gaze is captured by what he sees in the chocolate brown depths; love and…._oh shit_…acceptance.

"Ichi," he pleads, "hang on, please. Just hang on a little longer." _Where the hell was the relief team?_

Ichigo smiles up at Renji and says, "Don't worry. Doesn't hurt anymore."

Renji doesn't try to stop the tears anymore as he looks at the smile that never failed to warm him to the core. Ichigo's smiles had become rarer and rarer as the war with Aizen dragged on. Now, 10 years into the bloody mess, Renji realizes he was about to lose the best thing in his life.

"Don't you dare do this," Renji says in a low, desperate voice. "Don't you dare fuckin' die on me, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo just smiles again and says in a broken whisper, "Thanks Ren...for... everything."

"Don't go," Renji begs, "Please don't, please."

"Aishiteru, Ren," the words escape Ichigo's lips on a sigh.

"Love you too, Ichi," the words break on the sobs that finally escape Renji as he places a gentle kiss on the bloodied lips. The soft smile stays in place as Ichigo's eyes flutter close. Renji throws his head back, finally allowing his grief and agony to leave his body, as he realizes his lover is gone.

The tortured cry that cut through the battlefield noise was one that no one could forget, though all wished they could. The pain and heartbreak in the sound haunted the survivor's nightmares long after the war ended.

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Author Comments: The distress flare in this fic is similar to the white star cluster signal grenade used in the US Army. Signal grenades are often used to mark positions for a variety of reasons. 


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